Connector device



March 11, 1941;v

5. SUTTER CONNECTOR DEVICE Filed Aug. 14 1937 Patented Mar. 1941.

TED srras PATENT Fics 2,234,659 CONNECTOR DEVICE Samuel Sutter, Philadelphia.' Pa., asslgnor to Hugh H. Eby, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporati'o'n of Pennsylvania L Application August 14, 1931, soi-iol No. 159,114 i claims. (ci. ris-32s) mbe 'socket or the like that shan neosiiote the use of much less insulating material than tube socketsl heretofore known. Another object of my invention is to provide, in atube socket of the laminated type, means hav- T5 ing the double function of homing the iaminations in place and of permitting the socket to be expeditiously and cheaply mounted on, a radio receiver chassis,

Another' objectof my invention is to provide a lofradio tube socketpr connector device.,A the component'parts of which may be assembled lw'ithout resorting to the use of rivets, eyelets, screws or other extraneous device for holding the insulating -layers in position.

Another object of my invention is' 'to provide-io.'`

radio tube socket or connector device.- comprising a plurality of perforated plates of insulating material and means'for holding the said plates in position with the perforations in registry, the

last mentioned means being so constructed and arrang that riveting or peening over operations thereon shall be eliminated. v

A still Vfurther. and more specific obiect of my invention is Ito provide a radio tube socket vor con- 35 nector device comprising a plurality of perforated discs of insulating material together with means for holding the said plates in superposed relation with the perforations in'alignment.l thelast named means being so constructed and arranged that the 40 said plates maybe ailixed thereto 'by means of a simple manual operation without the necessity for permanently deforming any portion thereof. y

In accordance with my invention, I provide one top and one bottom perforated plate of insulating material and a dished metal frame for supporting the said plates and for holding them firmly iny such position that the perfcrations are in alignment. The metal frame has means integral therewithfonholding the bottom plate vin xed position 00 and also with means for holding the top plate in position after certain hereinafter described oper'- ationsare performed. n o

'Y Preferably, the lower edge of the side wall of the dished portion ofthe frame is provided with an inwardly @tending circular ledge having at upon the ledge.

least on upwardly and axially extending ear which cooperates'with a bay or notch in the periphery of the bottom plate to hold it in position and to prevent it from rotating when it rests Thefupper edge of the said wall o f the dished portion is provided with at least two i ardly exj tending, diametrl`cally disposed ears, n e ear being rigid and the other ear being sufficiently long to permit a certain amount of spring action. The 10 last mentioned ear has a downwardly and axially extending hook upon the free end thereof, which hook. enters an opening in the upper plate and maintains .the openings therein in registry with the openings in the lower plate.' 15

The Mnovel features that'l. consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in :the appended claims. The invention, itself.I however, I both as ,to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional 20 objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of certain specific embodiments thereof, when ,read in connection withI the accompanying drawings, in

. which: 25,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a socket or lconnector device constructed according to my invention.A

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a metal frameconstructed according to `my invention, the insulating laminations or discs being omitted.

Fig. 3 is va view in vertical cross section of a A socket constructed according to lmy invention.,

takenV along aline corresponding tothe line 3 3 in Fig. 1. 1 Fig. 4 is a view in vertical cross section of a metal frame constructed according yto my invention,'taken lalong a line corresponding lto the line 4-4linliig.2.l

Fig 5 is a plan view of a lower insulating plate. 4o Fig. v6 is a plan view of an upper insulating plate. y

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a portion of a socket assembly to which reference willbe made in. explanation of the i manner in 45 which my improved socket is assembled;

' Fig. 8,15 a View in perspective of -a preferred female contact element analogous in construction and'function to the contact element l'disclosed 'o and claimed' in #20,162.

' Fig. 9 is a top-plan view 'of a socket assembly constructed according to a'modiflcation of `my in.- vention.

v Fig. i0 is a top plan view of the metal frame 55"y the Draving Reissue Patent 5o.

shown in Fig. 9, the

.corresponding number of contact elements insulating plates being omitted.

Fig. 11 is a view in vertical cross section of a socket assembly such as is shown in Fig. 9, taken along a line corresponding to the line .IS-I9,

Fig. 12 is a view in vertical elevation of the frame shown in Fig. 10, taken along a line Vcorreponding to the line III- 20. l

Fig. 13 is a plan view of any upper insulating plate. v

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a lower insulating plate.

Fig. 15 is a view in perspective of a socket assembly of the type exemplified by Figs. 9 and 11.

In all figures, analogous elements are similarly designated.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2', 3 and 4, a socket or connector device constructed according to my invention comprises a plurality of perforated insulating plates or discs I and 3 :thatare held within the downwardly dished portion 5 of a metal frame 1. The lower plate is provided with a plurality oi' non-circular perforations 8 for the purpose of accommodating the. contact portions II of a I3, such as exempliiied by Fig. 8, and a plurality of rectangular perforations I5, one for each noncircular perforation, through which the soldering lugs I1 of therespective contact elements extend downwardly.

'I'he reach portion I9 of eachcontact element is gripped between the two plates vof insulating material.

The lower edge of the downwardly dished portion of the metal frame is provided with an inwardly extending ledge 2 I, the said ledge `having one or more upwardly and axially extending ears 23. 'I'he lower .plate of insulatingvmaterial is provided with. one or more bays 25 which cooperate with the ears to prevent the said plate from rotating when it is supported upon the inwardly extending ledge. 'I'he upper edge of the dished portion of the metal frame is provided with a rigid ear 21 that extends inwardly, under which the upper plate I is slid during the-assembly process. In.` addition to the rigid ear, thel upper edge of the side wall, of the metal frame is provided with an inwardly extending resilient hook 2l having a downwardly extending beveled lip II. Preferably, the hook is disposed diametrically opposite to the fixed ear. 'I'he rigid ear and the hook are struck out from a mounting collar 33 surrounding the upper edge of the frame,

Y leaving openings 35 and 31, respectively.

Referring once more to Fig. 5, it will -be noted that the lower plate, in addition to the bays or notches 2l that cooperate with the ears!! ex` tending upwardly from the ledge 2|, is provided with another relatively large peripheral b ay ornotch 39. This latter notch permits the lower plate to clear the spring hook, 29 when. it is dropped into the frame during the assembly operation.

It will also ybe'noted from an` inspection oi' Fig. 6 of the drawing that the upper plate is provided with a similar large notch II to permit it to clear the` spring hook, and is provided, furthermore, with a small rectangular opening a slight angular distance away from the large notch.

During the assembly operation, the lower plate is nrst placed upon the inwardly extending ledge of the metal frame with the diametrically disposed Vnotches therelnin cooperative relation with the upwardly extending ears on the raid ledge. Each perforation in `the lower plate is plate counterclockwise lin next provided with a contact element I3 as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the prong receiving portions of the elements being accom-y modated by the noncircular perfcrations and the soldering lugs vextending downwardly through the rectangular openings adjacent y the arrow in Fig. 6. During the rotation, thel beveled edge of the spring hook rides up over the insulating material between the large notch in the upper plate and the rectangular opening adjacent thereto and, upon continued rotation, it

snapsgdown into the said rectangular opening.` That operation is clearly exemplified by Fig. 7

-of the drawings.

The spring action of the hook reason of the fact that the side wall of the dished portion of the frame immediately thereunder is provided with two slots Il as shown in Fig. 4, whereby the said hook is permitted `to flex around an imaginary fulcrum disposed in the lower lnwardly extending ledge. If the material of the frame is suiliciently resilient, the slots may be dispensed with.

After rotation of the upper plate has brought the spring hook into registry with the rectangular opening, the prong-receiving perforations in the upper plate are in alignment with the' channel portions of the contact elements per se and Athe two plates are locked firmly in position.

Should it become necessary to disassemble the socket or connector device, continued forced rotation of the top plate in the direction of the arrow, slightly less than-360 degrees, will cause the hook to rise outot the rectangular opening and drop into place in the large notch, after which the upper plate may be removed. It, of course, falls within the scope of my invention to dispose the rectangular opening 43 at the other side of the notch in the upper plate as indicated and, in such event assembly and disassembly is accomplished by rotating the upper the direction of the dotted arrow shown in the same figure.

From an inspection of Fig. 5, it will be' noted that the non-circular or lower plate are angularly ydisposed with respect to the radii thereof. 'Ihat arrangement isfor the purpose of intel-posing maximum insulating material; between the several contact elements per se.

is facilitated by' oval openings l in the I' In certain instances, I have found that the n rigid ear. extending inwardly from the Vupper edge of the dished portion of the frame, is not suiilciently strong to retain the plates in permanent alignment. This 'is easily understandable, because if the ear is made very much longer or wider 'than is shown in the drawings, it is substantially impossible to slide thej upper plate under it without causing it to become deformed. l In such event, I may providevthe metal frame with two diametrically disposed spring hooks 21, instead of but one hook. omitting the rigid ear. Buch modincation of my invention is clearly exemplined by Figs. 915, from which vit will our bays '39 and lwith \A Af provided with four or more notches 25 analogousv to the notches cooperate with a corresponding numb-er of Vuptulned ears integral with the inwardly extending ledge disposed around the lowerend of the dished portion of the metal frame.

'Ihe mode of assembly of the socket or connector device exemplified by Figs'. 9-15 inclusive, is essentially the sameas the mode of assembly of the sockets hereinbefore described and no necessity is seen for repetition. l

It is to be clearly understood that my invention is not limited to the utilization ofthe contact element exemplified by Fig. 8, but that contact elements of any desiredtype may be, uti.

From the foregoing description of several embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent that it offers many advantages. In the first place, insulating material is reduced to the minimum, and because Bakelite or the like is more expensive than the metal used inthe supporting frame, such reduction greatly lessens the cost of Y a completed socket.. Again, the process of assembly requires much less time than the assembly of sockets of types heretofore known, because the self-locking action between the metal Vframe and the insulating plates, wherebyfthe perforatons are brought. into exact alignment, obviates the necessity oi? holding theplates in position by means of a jig while 'they are being riveted, as

other and for preventing the uppermost discv was heretoforethe case. In addition, the assembly of my improved sockel'l may be accomplished by relatively unskilled labor at minimum cost.

V Although I havev chosen several embodiments of my invention for purposes of illustration, additional modicationswill be apparent to those skilled prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l; In combination, in a connector device or the like, a pluralityof perforated discs of insulating material disposed in superposed relation,-

a metallic element encirclingsaid discs, one end of said element being provided with an inwardly directed ledge on which the lowermost of said discs is supported, the said disc and the said ledge having interlocking parts whereby the said disc is restrained against rotation, and the other end of said metallic element having resilient means for urging the several discs toward each from rotating, said means comprising a Agener- .ally radial inwardly directed member having an axially' directed angularly divergent hooked end andarranged to overlie the outer face of the upper discwithjthe hooked end seated in a perforation'in said face.

2. As an'article of manufacture, a cylindrical metallic element having at one end an inwardly directed ledge providedwith at least one uphereinbefore described* contact element might the art. My invention, therefore, is' not to e limited except as is necessitated by the.

tumed ear. the other end of said cylindrical element being provided with an encircling outwardly extending collar, a spring hook struck out from said cbllarand directed inwardly toward the axis of the cylindrical element and the said -wall of said .cylindrical element being provided with two axial slots so disposed with relation'to said-hook as to .denne a tongue aligned and integral with butangularly divergent from the -hook so that the resilience-of the latter is enhanced. a

3. As 'an article of manufacture, a cylindrical metallic Aelement adapted to encircle a. plurality of discs of insulating material, the lower end of said cylindrical element being provided with an inwardly directed ledge having atv least one uptunied ear, the upper end of said cylindrical element having an encircling collar integral therewith, an ear extending from the said upper end of the cylindrical element toward the axis of the cylindrical element, and a spring hook also extending inwardly from the last mentioned end of the cylindrical element at a point substantially diametrically opposite to the ear in the upper end of the cylindrical element, the free end of the spring hook having a depending axially extending portieri having -a sloping edge.

4. A socket comprising an annular lower plate, an annular upper plate, 'the plateshaving vperipheral bays capable of registrationI in one angularly adjusted position of the plates, said Aupper plate'having also a lockingv recess angularly spaced from said bay, a cylindrical element sur-A rounding both plates and having at. its lower end an inwardly -projecting extension substantially normal to the axis of said element, said extension constituting a support for said annular lower,

plate, a resilient tongue having a depending 4 sloping end extending fromthe upper portion of lsaid element insubstantial parallelismvto the support Aof such size as to permit the plates tov move axially into the cylindrical element with their respective bays in alignment and straddling said tongue until the upper plate hasv its outer surface in a plane substantially coincident with the lower surface of the tongue and with the de, pending sloping end disposed inthe bay ofthe y upper plate, said upper plate arranged for angular rotation in the cylindrical element to cause the sloping depending end of the tongue to rise out of the 'bay in said plate and to traverse relatively the surface of said upper plate between the bay and the locking4 recess and to resiliently snap into the said recess, to'hold the upper plate. against either axial or angular movement yrela tive to the cylindrical element.

5. A socket comprising a. cylindrical wall', a resilient tongue extending radially inwardly from -said wall and having a terminal extending substantially axially of the cylindrical wall, a pair of superposed insulating sheets of substantially the same diameter as said cylinder with the up per sheet provided with a substantially radial peripheral recess such as to enable seating of -said sheet in the cylinder past said torgue, an anchoring recess in spaced relation to the radial recess in the upper sheet into which the dependying terminal-is arranged to be resiliently engaged pursuant togrotationof the said upper platein the cylinder, and supplemental means arcuately spaced from said tongue for holding the upper plate against axial movement outwardly or' the cylindrical wall.

6. In a connector device, a perforated insulatins" plate', electrical contact making members supportedy by said plate iny some of the perforations; a second insulating plate having perforations some oi' which are in registration with the contact makingmembers and including a peripheral bay, a holding member substantially surrounding both of said plates at their peripheries, a portion limiting axial movement of the plates in one direction' in said holding member, and a hooked substantially radial member having an angularly oil-set substantially axial end arranged to pass directly through said bay as the second plate is moved substantially axially into said holding member until the lower surface of the radial member lies substantially in a plane' containing the outer surface of the second plate,`

said second plate arranged for angular adjustment transversely of said r al member to cause the bay to move from alignment with the radial member, with the ofi-set' end engaged in a perforation to lock the second plate against both axial and angular movement.

7. A connector device comprising two plates of insulating material, a holding member enupper pla/te.

tions arranged ior operative interlocking engagement upon rotation of the upper plate to move the peripheral recess out of registration with said means to cause a portion of said means to overlie a solid surface oi said upper plate to prevent axial outward movement thereof, while the said interlocking means prevents motion of the first mentioned relative angular means .and the 

